All Forum Posts by: Alfredo Goytia

I can recommend a couple of very fair priced handymen in the Fort Worth area if you PM me.

The ideal method to fund these repairs would be through your own reserves. Sometimes as new investors we don't have all of the reserves up front to be able to fund these repairs and we may also not have all of the connections in the general contracting area. Home warranties can be a great friend until you build up those network connections and reserves. I used to buy a home warranty for every property I obtained and built the cost into the rent. Everytime a tenant has an issue, you simply submit a request online and a contractor will contact you to schedule the repair. It's very convenient and relatively inexpensive.You basically pay a monthly or yearly premium and a service cost everytime someone comes out. Although it's a small flat service call fee that generally includes parts a labor. Something to think about!

@David Gwilt very cool! What part of Fort Worth? I actually grew up here and now invest in the affordable parts of Dallas/Fort Worth in the path of growth. 

@Doug Smith hmm that’s weird, even if you have no affiliations, and you’re just giving a recommendation, that may be flagged?

But that seems like a good place to start!

It seems that the topic on long distance real estate investing is really hot right now (thanks @David Greene!). It almost seems essential in order to get started, unless you want to house hack, if you live in a high priced area (California, Washington D.C., New York, etc). I think the most crucial thing about long distance real estate investing is having a pair of very reliable boots on the ground. Having a great set of eyes and ears that relays project progress, sends videos and pictures, and most of all can be your proxy presence. What I mean by proxy presence is having that person that can do the activities you'd need to be there in person for (for example: show homes, meet contractors, inspect repair work, help in insurance claims situations, etc).

This proxy presence that seems most crucial, also seems incredibly impossible to find! Not only do they need to have a body in the location you are investing, but they must also be competent. Even more so than competent, you hope they can be an extension of you so this can be as passive as possible. Of course you always need to manage them and never fully go hands, while at the same time still developing your systems and processes to help mitigate any risks that arise with this type of relationship. 

This proxy presence should also be very familiar with the real estate investing climate in this area. They should be able to make recommendations on where to invest, where not to, where the path of growth is heading, what upgrades are appropriate for the area, etc. They should also be your "ears to the ground". They should be connected and be a great source of deal finding.

With all of these requirements it almost seems like you are looking for a unicorn! There may be alternate strategies. For example, these skills can be split up into multiple people. Your deals you could get from local wholesalers in that area. The repair work could be handled by partnering with a great general contractor. And the rest could be handled by a licensed agent and/or property management company.

Although, what if I was to tell you these proxy presence unicorns exists? And that they make long distance real estate investing a dream. What if I was to tell you that all you'd have to do is put somework into finding them?

If you were convinced they existed how would you go about finding this proxy presence unicorns?

Hey Christopher,

Did you ever find an answer to your questions? I just ran into this same scenario and wondered the exact same things. It's a condo-duplex that is really just a duplex. Do you still think it's more beneficial to convert back to a MF duplex? I'm really curious to find out what you ended up doing.

Hello all!

Excited to be here, there's a lot caring people and high energy environments.

I'm a software engineer by day and landlord by night and currently started looking to expand my portfolio. I've been looking into starting an L.L.C. to wrap my current two properties around and use this current equity to launch me into my next investment. My strategy is really to buy, fix up, rent and refinance to hopefully gain cashflow and equity to keep propelling me to my next investment. 

Anyone have any great suggestions on a specific CPA to get me started? I'm currently in Fort Worth, Tx. Although, I'm not opposed to a remote CPA!

Any general advice is greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance for your time!